What Is Alcoholism? Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention
Most residential treatment programs include individual and group therapy, support groups, educational lectures, family involvement, and activity therapy. You’re likely to start by seeing your primary health care provider. If your provider suspects that you have a problem with alcohol, you may be referred to a mental health provider. You can prevent alcohol use disorder by limiting your alcohol intake.
More in The Road to Recovery with Alcohol Dependence
Alcoholics frequently have defective red blood cells that are destroyed prematurely, possibly resulting in anemia. Alcohol also interferes with the production and function of white blood cells, especially those that defend the body against invading bacteria. Consequently, alcoholics frequently suffer from bacterial infections. Finally, alcohol adversely affects the platelets and other components of the blood-clotting system.
The Problem With Calling Someone an “Alcoholic”
Through several intermediate stages, these precursors differentiate further and develop into the mature cells circulating in the blood or residing in the tissues. When healthcare providers screen for AUD, they look at drinking behavior patterns within the last year to determine a diagnosis. They use 11 criteria established by the DSM-5 to assess alcohol use severity.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
A BAC of 0.09% to 0.25% causes lethargy, sedation, balance problems and blurred vision. A BAC of 0.18% to 0.30% causes profound confusion, impaired speech (e.g. slurred speech), staggering, dizziness and vomiting. A BAC from 0.25% to 0.40% causes stupor, unconsciousness, anterograde amnesia, vomiting (death may occur due to inhalation of vomit while unconscious) and respiratory depression (potentially life-threatening). A BAC from 0.35% to 0.80% causes a coma (unconsciousness), life-threatening respiratory depression and possibly fatal alcohol poisoning. With all alcoholic beverages, drinking while driving, operating an aircraft or heavy https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/5-tips-of-how-to-maintain-recovery-motivation/ machinery increases the risk of an accident; many countries have penalties for drunk driving. If you feel that you sometimes drink too much alcohol, or your drinking is causing problems, or if your family is concerned about your drinking, talk with your health care provider.
Prevention and Risk Factors
Slips can be fueled by withdrawal symptoms, mental health challenges, and drug-related cues, such as spending time with old drinking partners or visiting old drinking locations. Triggers become engrained in addiction, so it’s valuable to recognize these cues, avoid them, and replace them with alcoholism new behaviors, such as calling a sponsor or loved one when craving alcohol, which can help avoid a relapse. If the drinking world is conceptualized as a spectrum, normal social drinking is one on end (a few drinks per month, almost always in a social context) and alcohol use disorder is on the other end. But there’s a large gray area in the middle, in which drinking can cause problems for someone’s health, job, or loved ones, but not to a clinical extent. An example would be a father who falls asleep on the couch after having several drinks three or four days a week, missing out on time with his kids and wife.
